Auror Potter and the Creepy Case of Jack O'Lantern
by sprinter1988
Summary: A little Halloween treat for ya! When a mysterious beast begins attacking Wizards and Muggles alike, as well as his ex-wife, Auror Potter is called in to discover what the creature is, where it came from and how to kill it. Sort of compliant with epilogue, but set 7 years later. Not for Ron or Ginny fans. Won't be overly gory, mostly just for the fun of it. HP/HG, TL/VW
1. The First Attack

Please note that this story is canon complaint up to the epilogue. However, as this story takes place seven years after the epilogue, there have been a few changes.

Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

**Auror Potter and the Creepy Case of Jack O'Lantern**

Chapter One: First Attack

The night was a dark one, with the moon and every star hidden behind dense black clouds. In the distance thunder grumbled, threatening a pending rainstorm. A chill wind blew through the air, stinging any exposed skin it contacted with.

A hidden part of London was colder and darker than the rest. Knockturn Alley was widely known amongst certain circles as a breeding point for concoctions most foul, and schemes most nefarious. Since the fall of the Dark Lord Voldemort, some twenty-six years ago, Knockturn Alley was one of few disreputable places in Wizarding Britain that had remained largely the same, despite the best efforts of the new Ministry of Magic.

For some people this was just as well. And that group included one woman in particular.

Standing just inside the glow of a street lamp that was styled much like the gas ones of old, she surveyed the alley in both directions, looking out for her next potential customer. Everybody appeared to be content to remain inside tonight, comfortable in the warm.

As the flame in the lamp above flickered about in the wind, she thought back on how she had ended up here.

Once upon a time, she had lived the high life. She had spent six years touring, not only the country but also the world as a prominent player in home and international Quidditch tournaments. She had served as a starting chaser for her country's team during two separate world cups, first as part of a team that made it as far as the quarter finals, then four years later as part of the team that won England the World Cup trophy for the first time in over one hundred and fifty years. Following that she had been Senior Quidditch Correspondent for The Daily Prophet for a good number of years. More importantly, however, she had been the wife of a war hero. A man who was arguably one of the most famous wizards of recent generations, who was held in the same high esteem by the people as other great wizards of their time; Albus Dumbledore, Godric Gryffindor, Merlin.

That he was loaded didn't hurt either.

All those factors combined together to tempt her into the heady thrills of the high life. It became the height of social appeal to have her and her husband in attendance at any social event you threw, be it party, charitable event or grand opening of some building or other. She quickly got used to all the glitz and the glam that were offered to her. She became addicted to the flash of the tabloid camera, to the taste of bubbling champagne, to the adulation and respect.

But more than that she had fallen in love with what went on behind the scenes. Apart from her occasional stint on the national team when it was required, her entire Quidditch career was spent playing for Britain's only all-female team; The Holyhead Harpies.

And the Harpies had a bit of a reputation. Women not in the know would scoff derisively and claim that the stories going around were nothing more than fabrications of the minds of chauvinistic males who were insecure about their own masculinity. However, to those in the know, the stories going around not only had their origins in truth, but actually paled in comparison to it. Like it or not, the Harpies' reputation had been well earned throughout the years, though it was meant to be kept secret; "What happens in the changing rooms/hotel/backstage of the nightclub, stays in the changing rooms/hotel/backstage of the nightclub.

Obviously the occasional leak got out but never anything too serious. And it was not a tale from behind the scenes that got her caught out. That happened by accident, or so her niece Rose claimed. One simple, improperly aimed "_Finite Incantatum"_ had sealed her fate. Her second son, the middle child, the one who seemed to resemble his father most amongst the kids was suddenly revealed to look nothing like him at all. And the truth had just unravelled from there.

Harry Potter was usually a forgiving man, but even he had his limits and within a month of the truth coming out Ginny Potter found herself having to go by her maiden name of Weasley again.

Having fallen in love with the high life, she had naturally wanted to keep it up. However in the wake of the scandal, she lost her job at the Daily Prophet, all her old friends from the world of Quidditch now avoided her like the plague, lest any of their sordid secrets be revealed by being near her, and she had gotten sod all out of Harry in the divorce settlement. Even her kids, including Albus, turned on her.

The trouble was if she wanted the high life, she had to pay for it in much gold. And the only way to get gold was to earn it. And beyond Quidditch she had no discernible skills to use in a place of work. As she got, and kept, her job at Prophet only through getting down on her knees in front of the right people, she had quickly come to the conclusion that this was the only path available to her.

She had yet to reach the high life she dreamed of returning to, but at least she earned enough to not starve and to keep a roof over her head.

Tonight, however, was proving to be very slow indeed. So far she's only had the one customer; a lad fresh out of Hogwarts, the type who could barely function properly around attractive women, whose mates had pooled together to get him some action.

As the first drops of rain began to fall, Ginny Weasley finally acknowledged that maybe tonight was not going to be her night, and that she might as well go home.

As she turned to leave, however, she spotted something. There was a figure; one that she assumed was a man, walking through the glow of a streetlamp about halfway along the street to her right. As best she could make out, he was wearing a long, pale brown trench coat that reached the ground. The collar of the trench coat was turned up to conceal the face, a feat that was also aided by the presence of the homburg hat that sat on the head. This secretive style of dress did not concern Ginny in the least. Most clients liked to keep their appearances secret; no point letting good reputations go to waste over a quick shag in a dark alley, after all.

Sensing a potential customer, Ginny quickly set about readjusting her robes for the most revealing effect. Then she conjured up a mirror to check her make-up. Satisfied she banished the mirror she took up her usual, provocative pose up against the street lamp and stared lustfully towards her potential client as he approached.

"Hey, baby," she purred with well-practiced ease once he was in the glow of the same lamp as her "you lookin' for a good time?"

All she got in return was a nod, but that was all she needed.

From overhead the raindrops suddenly began falling a lot heavier. Not wanting to lose this potential client she beckoned him over to a dark side-alley where it was a little drier. She sat on one of the crates there, crossed one leg over the other and said in a seductive tone "So, what can I do for you?"

Suddenly, and without warning, the figure reached down and grabbed her by the ankles. Following one, quick tug she was yanked off of the crate and onto the cold, broken stone path.

"Easy tiger." she said, trying to keep the sudden fear that gripped her out of her voice.

And suddenly he was on top of her. She tried to fight him off but he was incredibly strong. What felt like ropes were suddenly winding themselves around her wrists and ankles, then more started to coil around her neck as what felt like whips began to lash at her body. Eyes stinging with tears of pain, she looked up towards the face beneath the mask and saw nothing but two glowing orange eyes. Fear gripped her heart and she screamed. She screamed for all she was worth.

Then the world around her began to fade. But in that moment before everything went black, a door slammed open somewhere nearby and several male voices shouted out. The whip-like blows ceased, the winding ropes unravelled, and he was gone.

Ginny Weasley took one shuddering breath and then passed out as feet came splashing towards her.

* * *

Lightning flashed outside the window of the office, but those inside paid it no heed. Teddy Lupin and his fellow Aurors Daniel Burke and Ollie Patterson were sitting around a small circular table playing a game of exploding snap for money in the hope of whiling away a few hours of the night shift in the office. Really they ought to be using the time to do some paperwork, and all three knew that, but really couldn't be bothered. A night shift in the office was dull enough without adding paperwork to it.

Their main purpose for being in the office as such ungodly hours was to await potential calls for backup from those out on night-time patrol. Normally an outdoor nightshift was preferable to an indoor one, but on a stormy night tonight, those stuck inside had a lot to be grateful for.

"Merlin, I hate nights like these." grumbled Teddy Lupin as he places a Mountain Troll card on top of Ollie's Manticore "I'd so much rather be at home with Victoire."

"I know what you mean mate." said Dan with a grin as he placed down a Cyclops card "I'd much rather be as home with Victoire as well."

For that Teddy drew his was and hit his fellow Auror with a stinging hex right on the nose as a chuckling Ollie placed down his card. At the sight of a second Cyclops card, Teddy jabbed the pile of cards with his wand, causing a small explosion that won him the point.

It was to the smell of exploded cards and the sounds of Dan's grumbling and Teddy and Ollie's laughter that Senior Auror Laura Medley walked into the room.

"Alright you three," she scolded lightly "break it up. We've just got a call from Pierson and Michaels. They were called into Knockturn Alley after someone attacked a Hooker. Pierson's taken her to St. Mungo's. Burke and Patterson get over to Knockturn Alley and help Michaels out. I'm going over to the Hospital. Lupin, call Potter and meet me there."

"What do we need to call Uncle Harry for?" asked Teddy once Dan and Ollie had hurried out of the room.

Medley said nothing, instead just giving him a pointed look that told him everything he needed to know.

"Oh damn it." he grumbled and made his way over to one of the fireplaces.

* * *

The two wine glasses tinged musically after being tapped against one another. Having shared a beautiful candle-lit dinner earlier in the evening, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger were now curled up together on the comfy sofa in the front room of the Potter family cottage in Godric's Hollow, each of them enjoying a glass of exquisite red wine, and basking and the presence of each other's company, as well as the warm glow of the roaring fire.

"Hmmm," Hermione practically purred as she cuddled deeper into Harry's side "Such a lovely way to spend an evening."

Harry chuckled and held her a little closer "You've never spoken a truer word."

Hermione laughed lightly before asking "So, got anything more planned for this evening?"

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment before making a suggestion "Hmmm, well I suppose we could make out like a pair of horny, sexually frustrated teenagers."

"Sound like a plan." said Hermione appreciatively before turning in his arms and moving in to capture his lips and he mirrored her.

Half an inch before their lips could touch, however, they broke apart. Their attention was forcefully pulled towards the fireplace where the yellow and orange flames had now turned a bright green.

"Uncle Harry? Are you there?" asked the voice of Harry's Godson Teddy Lupin as his face swam into view.

"Yes, I'm here." said Harry in a frustrated tone "What is it?"

"Sorry, Uncle Harry. It's just that we've got something that you really need to come and see to."

"Can't it wait until tomorrow?" Harry asked hopefully. That wasn't really behaviour becoming of someone holding the tile of Head Auror, but he really didn't want to leave Hermione tonight.

Teddy shook his head "You really should come now. It's Ginny. She's gotten herself into a bit of a situation and is now in St. Mungo's."

Harry heaved a heavy sigh "Fine. I'll see you in St. Mungo's in a few minutes."

With a nod, Teddy Lupin's face disappeared and the flames returned to their normal colour.

"Damn woman." grumbled Harry as he summoned his Auror robes and pulled them on over what he was already wearing "Even after I divorce her she still manages to spoil my fun."

"Then don't go." protested Hermione, lightly.

"I have too." replied Harry and he leaned in to give her a kiss.

"See you soon." he said, pulling back.

"Hurry back." said Hermione.

"I'll do my best." he replied before vanishing through the Floo.

* * *

Harry met Teddy and Laura Medley on in the Reception area of the hospital.

"She's up on the first floor." Laura informed them.

Harry frowned. The first floor was where they dealt with creature-related injuries.

"They think it's a creature attack?" he asked.

"I don't know." replied Laura "And I don't think they do either."

Harry frowned and followed Laura up to the first floor. Just as they got there Healer Tracey Davis hurried over to them.

"Oh good, you're here. Can you tell me anything more about what attacked her?"

Laura shook her head "Pierson's the only one here who has been to the scene of the crime. We're waiting to hear more from Burke, Patterson and Michaels soon."

"What's wrong with her, exactly?" asked Harry "Was it a creature?"

"That's the thing, we don't know." replied Tracey "She's got several long and deep wounds that we first thought were something that could have been done by claws. However on closer inspection, they seemed to be more like the marks that result from being struck repeatedly by a whip."

"A whip?" Harry asked for clarification.

"Yes, and she's got quite a few bruises, and what look like burns. There're lots of those. And there are marks that look as though they were inflicted by thick ropes wrapping tightly around her wrists, ankles and even her neck."

Harry scowled "Sounds to me like she got too carried away with a customer playing some sort of dominatrix/asphyxiation bullshit."

Tracey sighed "Well, given her lifestyle, we cannot really rule that out. Listen, seeing as this no longer looks like it's a creature attack, we're gonna need to move her elsewhere soon. Do you want to get a look at her first?"

"I suppose we'd better." said Harry, albeit reluctantly.

Tracey nodded and led them through the ward and over to a bed blocked off from view by privacy screens. Auror Pierson was standing guard at the foot of the bed.

Stepping around the screen, Harry caught sight of his ex-wife and could not help but feel a little bit of sympathy. Not for the lying cheating bitch she was now, but the happy-go-lucky little girl that he once saw during those last few weeks of the summer holidays that he used to spend at the Weasley family home, the Burrow.

"Oh dear, Ginny" he muttered with a sigh "what have you been up to now?"

Teddy sniffed the air and frowned "Sorry, but does anyone else smell pumpkin juice?"

Pierson snapped his fingers in a gesture of recognition "That's what it is. Thank you; I've trying to place it."

Harry frowned and leaned forward to sniff the air. They were right. There was definitely the smell of pumpkin juice in the air.

"Not usually a smell I'd associated with one who works in Knockturn Alley." observed Laura "Normally it's a combination of knock off imitation fire-whiskey and vomit."

"Maybe it's her perfume." suggested Teddy.

"Maybe." said Harry "Kind of a weird odour for a prostitute though."

Harry turned to Auror Pierson and asked "Has she been unconscious all this time? Has she said anything?"

Pierson shrugged "Just a bit on incoherent mumbling shortly after they brought her in."

"We've sedated her since then." added Tracey.

Harry nodded and turned to look back at Ginny once more before shaking his head and turning back to the rest "Well, I've seen I all need to at the moment. I'll get progress reports tomorrow morning."

The other three Aurors nodded and Harry left.

"Please don't tell me he still has feelings for her." moaned Laura after he had left.

Teddy shook his head "Don't worry about that. There's no chance he'll want to get back with her. He's sympathetic and feels bad that this happened to her, but he's not gonna fall for her again."

"Good." replied Tracey "He spent too much time in therapy with Daphne to slip back now."

"He's got Hermione now." said Teddy "She'll look after him."

* * *

Harry arrived back in the Potter cottage and looked around. He was glad he had this place. When he was with Ginny she had insisted that they live in the big Potter Manor. This cottage was much more homely, and Hermione loved it. Thankfully Ginny's insistence on living in the manor meant that this place held no memories of his past life with her. Here he could start anew with Hermione.

Speaking of Hermione...

He put his hand in his pocket and took out the small velvet box that held the engagement ring that he had hoped to give to Hermione tonight. In typical Ginny Weasley style, however, his ex-wife had found a way to ruin the moment.

He would just have to try again another night.

He wandered through the cottage looking for her.

"Hermione?" he called out "Hermione?"

He made his way through to the master bedroom and pushed open the door quietly. He had taken a few steps into the room when he was attacked from behind.

He landed on the soft and luxurious bed and then a laughing female voice said in his ear "Here I am."

Harry managed to twist himself beneath her and look up at her.

She was naked.

"There you are." he said with a grin and she stooped down to catch his lips in a kiss.

* * *

**A/N: So what do you think? Not my regular story, I know, but I felt like doing a tale for Halloween. I think that you can roughly guess the villain in this piece, but it should still be a fun ride anyway. Next chapter we'll look at Harry the Auror and see a bit about why Hermione is with Harry and no longer with Ron. We'll also probably see the second and third attacks, maybe more.**


	2. The Investigation Begins

Please note that this story is canon complaint up to the epilogue. However, as this story takes place seven years after the epilogue, there have been a few changes.

Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

**Auror Potter and the Creepy Case of Jack O'Lantern**

Chapter 2: The Investigation Begins

Harry and Teddy were seated at Harry's desk in the office going over the reports that had come in as a result of the events of the previous night.

"According to what witnesses told Burke, Patterson and Michaels" said Teddy as he looked through the notes "the attacker fled the scene by climbing up and over a vertical wall."

Harry rubbed a hand over his face wearily and asked "A vertical wall? I assume there was a drainpipe involved?"

"There was one there," replied Teddy "But it's in need of repair and couldn't possibly support the weight of a full grown man."

"Appearances can be deceiving. Are they sure there weren't any charms on it?"

"They checked and found nothing."

"Then he must have cast something on himself." replied Harry.

"I suppose." agreed Teddy "There's another thing though, witnesses reported seeing what looked like two glowing orange eyes under the hat."

Harry frowned. That was an odd occurrence, and one that he could think of no answer for.

At that moment Susan Bones came over to join them. Before attaining the position of Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, she had been Harry's partner amongst the Aurors; they had trained together, worked together and risen through the ranks together. In fact the days of Potter and Bones were quite legendary, and for good reason. Together they were effective and ruthless, though rarely killers. They always brought the bad guys in alive if they could, as you got more answers that way. Through the years many others gravitated towards them and they had become natural leaders, often taking over the running of things when their own superiors failed to perform up to standard. They seemed to almost develop their own unit within the ranks of the Aurors, with many, such as Laura Medley, Rose Zeller and Teddy Lupin becoming their protégés. And it wasn't just Aurors that came under their effective influence. People from all parts of the DMLE, from forensics experts through specialist healers to hit wizards, became part of the highly effective inner-circle of Potter and Bones. A small yet widely sourced team made for an effective team that was made up of people that knew that they were able to trust one another and work perfectly together.

And that made them terrifying to criminals.

Nowadays Potter and Bones were in charge (although they had arguably been in charge for a lot longer than they had officially held the positions) and that had meant trouble for a lot of people. If there was one thing that Potter and Bones hated more than a criminal, it was someone who held a job just because of who their Daddy happened to be friendly with. These Aurors were the least effective ones, often hugely overestimating their battle prowess. They also tended to think that criminals would surrender to them upon learning who their family name, and would often assume (or at least seem to assume) that the name of the arresting officer somehow added credence to a captured criminal's guilt and would thus sway the court in favour of conviction.

It didn't work like that, but these numpties always failed to accept that. And it was these that Potter and Bones had work quickly and effectively to get rid of once they were in charge.

Susan set some documents down on Harry's desk. "I've increased the number of Law Enforcement Officers in Knockturn Alley. I'm going to add an extra two Aurors there as well until we catch the culprit."

"That's fine." replied Harry, picking up the documents and beginning to flick through them "Did you manage to get in contact with the Weasley family yet?"

Susan nodded in reply "Yes. They were understandably distressed, in spite of recent tensions in the family, but were glad she was found before too much damage could be done. I believe Molly and Arthur have headed over to see her already. Oh, and I've just sent dear Ronald home. I told him to take the week off."

Harry gave a nod and smiled weakly. He knew that this action was just Susan jumping at the opportunity to get Ron out of the way. He couldn't really blame her for it either

In spite of everything, Ronald Weasley had managed to escape the purge of the ranks of the DMLE. Harry just couldn't bring himself to do it, no matter how much others insisted that Ron as a branch that needed pruning.

There was no two ways about it; Ronald Weasley was a crap Auror. Not in that he took bribes or anything (well, there was the occasional rumour, but nothing concrete on that front) but more just a bumbling buffoon who usually just caused more paperwork than anything.

After the downfall of Lord Voldemort, Harry had entered into the Auror training program as soon as he was able. There he had begun to work with Susan and together they had qualified after just two years (a whole year earlier than the recommended training period). Ron, however, had mucked about a bit and wasted two whole years turning down every job offer that came his way, first trying to get onto the Chudley Cannons Quidditch team, and when that failed he kept trying to get a coaching role (something that he was entirely unfit for). In the end he was taken on as "Assistant to the Assistant Coach" more to stop him pestering the higher-ups than anything.

The job had lasted just two weeks.

Following that, Ron's brother George roped him in into helping out at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, the joke shop step up by George and his late twin Fred, who had died in the war. According to some sources, Ron had been instrumental in turning the joke shop into a real money-spinner (though other sources pointed out that George's then girlfriend – now wife- Angelina might have had given George a few good pointers, and also former shop assistant Verity took on a more managerial role at around this time as well.)

Four years after starting there, Ron had left the joke shop and took up Auror training. He seemed to be operating under the impression that Harry and Susan had been _allowed _to glide through the course in order to finish early (it never once occurred to him that they completed their course early through talent), and was a bit miffed at such a thing not being awarded to him. In fact, overall it took Ron an extra two years than was normal to complete the course, barely passing first year, and having to repeat both second and third (only being able to do so because Harry stepped in and persuaded his superiors to allow it. Using his fame like that was something he hated, but did so as a favour to Hermione who was, by now married to Ron).

Harry had had the misfortune to teach some classes that Ron had attended, as well as having to observe several others. Ron's tactical mind seemed only to stretch as far as the chess board, and the Stealth and Concealment classes had been painful to watch. Unfortunately Ron's repeating of two years meant that he finally graduated his training at around the same time it was expected for Harry and Susan to take on their forth protégés. It generally worked like that: you're an Auror for four years and then you could take on a protégé who was just finishing training. The protégé then worked with you for between one and two years, then you could take another. By this point Harry and Susan were starting their tenth year as fully qualified Aurors and had each taken a protégé at the beginning of their fifth, sixth and eighth years, and were now looking for their next ones. Fortunately both of them had been able to nab two other trainees before Ron figured out that he could potentially become Harry's protégé.

Unfortunately the Auror who did take Ron as his protégé suddenly decided to retire just three months later and, with no one to take over his role, and everyone looking to avoid getting stuck with Auror Weasley as a partner, Ron was suddenly unleashed upon the office on his own.

Cue his constant badgering of Harry.

In short Ron made an awful Auror and remained at low rank. When she was still married to Ron, Hermione had once asked Harry why he'd never used his name to help Ron out. Unfortunately Harry was forced to admit to her that it was using his name to prevent Ron from being fired, let alone get him promoted.

Understandably, Hermione had been quite angry and upset to hear her friend Harry talking like that about her husband. Her mind changed just two months later when Ron made a colossal cock-up when he provided the press with secret information about the infamous floo-hacking scandal, perpetrated by the Daily Prophet. Hermione had sincerely apologised and told Harry he had her complete understanding should he choose to ever fire Ron.

Of course, now that Hermione was divorced from Ron (after he was arrested in a brothel), Harry didn't have the excuse of it making her life easier if he just kept Ron employed. Nowadays he told himself that he kept Ron employed because he couldn't fire a man whilst shagging said man's ex-wife. It was just bad form.

Susan, on the other hand, claimed that Harry had some strange sense of (highly undeserved) loyalty to Ron that forced him to forgive every single one of the idiot's faults, no matter how severe. She frequently noted that she had observed the exact same thing in school and Hermione, once her eyes were well and truly opened, whole-heartedly agreed with this sentiment. And she wasn't the only one.

Harry sighed and shook his head in an attempt to push his thoughts regarding Ron aside.

"Have we heard from Tracey over at St Mungo's yet?" Teddy asked "She said she'd contact us if she found anything more."

Susan shook her head "Sorry, no."

Harry took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes again. Despite the injuries sustained by Ginny, and the handful of witnesses, who admittedly didn't get to see much, they really did not have all that much to go on.

"Ginny might be able to tell us more when she wakes up." said Susan "Until then we'll just have to hope that the extra patrols in Knockturn Alley turn up something."

Harry nodded and shut the folder. With the area thoroughly searched, all witnesses questioned and the victim heavily sedated for her own good, there were no more lines of inquiry to them to follow up on at the moment.

* * *

George and Angelina Weasley stood behind the counter, totalling up the day's takings. After a successful post-Hogwarts Quidditch career playing for first the Wimbourne Wasps and later the Abbleby Arrows, Angelina had joined George in the running of the successful joke shop at a time when it was looking to expand by opening a branch in Hogsmeade (thankfully George's dear younger brother had left by that point). Now Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was an international business having managed to open a branch in the magical shopping district of France (thanks to the aid of their sister-in law Fleur).

Tonight Angelina could tell that George's heart wasn't really in his work like it usually was, but he could hardly be blamed for that, what with his sister having been attacked in Knockturn Alley the previous evening.

Only a bit longer, however, and she could get him upstairs to their flat for a bit of TLC.

"Night, guys."

They both looked up to see Verity walking across the shop floor, weaving between the boxes of Wildfire Whiz-Bang fireworks and the Anti-Gravity Hats.

"Good night, Verity." the both replied.

"Tell Lee to get better soon." Angelina added.

"I will." replied Verity as she approached and opened the door. She then stepped out into the dark street outside and then closed it behind.

All in all, Verity Jordan was happy with her lot in life. When, fresh out of Hogwarts, she had taken a job at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, it was only intended as a temporary thing until she could find something a bit more permanent. Unfortunately the odds of getting a decent job that paid a good wage were stacked against her. Being a Muggleborn really seemed to count against her in the big, wide world, just as those bullying, arrogant Slytherins had always claimed.

Then one day, about a year after the war had ended, George had presented her with the opportunity to take on a more managerial position in the shop, a position that paid much better some of the jobs she had gone for elsewhere, so she had instantly snatched it up. The only problem had been that her old job was taken over by George's pain in the arse brother Ron. Thankfully George took it upon himself the have a couple of words with Ron one afternoon, and the git quickly learnt to behave himself.

More recently, the overall running of the shop had been turned over to Verity and Angelina, thus allowing George more time to get creating. Usually he did this with Lee, Verity's husband, but Lee had been off from work for the past week with Black Cat Flu.

Diagon Alley was mostly empty, except from what looked like half a dozen Law Enforcement Officers loitering near the entrance to Knockturn Alley, most likely hoping for a chance to capture Ginny Weasley's attacker.

Every shop was shut, though lights still shone through the front windows of a couple as the owners tidied up after a day of business.

She made her way past the Law Officers and headed on towards the Leaky Cauldron as she didn't feel much like cooking dinner tonight and hoped Hannah would be gracious enough to rustle up a couple of her famous cottage pies to go.

Just as she was passing Flourish and Blott's, a man stepped out of the darkened doorway of Quality Quidditch supplies. She didn't really pay him much mind as he began to walk towards her, though she did note that his hat was pulled low over his forehead and the collar of his coat was pulled up around his neck.

She stepped to the side slightly to walk around him when he suddenly reached out and grabbed her left arm. She shouted out in surprise and went for her wand, but in one powerful movement he twisted her arm and flung her to the ground, her wand slipping from her grasp. She was winded by the force with which she hit the ground, and hit her head pretty hard on the cobbles.

Her initial shout, however, drew the attention of the Law Officers. Seeing what was happening, most began to run over to offer assistance, whilst one other began calling for Auror backup.

As a stunning spell whizzed by the attacker's head, he let go of Verity's arm and sprang towards the wall. As the Law Officers fired spells frantically towards him, he scaled the wall and vanished from sight.

Moments later light was coming through every shop-front window and the owners were filling the streets to see what had happened.

* * *

"Attacker disturbed before he could do more than knock her to the ground, escaped in the same way as before." stated Law Enforcement Officer Alex Munroe.

Harry tapped his fingers on the surface of the desk as he thought; his face an expression of frustration.

"Are we sure the attacker was the same?" he asked.

"Homburg hat pulled low over the face, long trench coat with the collar pulled up. Same attire as yesterday's attacker." stated Teddy.

"Well, at least the victim is conscious this time." said Harry "Hopefully she'll be able to tell us more when we question her. Have the searchers found anything _at all_?"

Susan shook her head "Not yet. It's almost as if he apparated away after getting onto the roof. Though thankfully that is impossible nowadays."

Harry nodded in agreement. One of the first changes made following the war was the ease of access to Diagon Alley. Anti-apparition wards over most of the alley made it so that you could only arrive at certain points. Although as many as ten people could arrive in one of these points at a time (your arrival destination was automatically adjusted by the wards to prevent collisions), their arrival could be monitored. This meant that it was much more difficult for people to attack the alley in large numbers, much like the Death Eaters had done during the war. Ten people arriving in the same spot were much easier to corner than ten people arriving scattered throughout the alley. It also made it harder for would-be thieves to make a quick getaway.

Harry got to his feet and pulled on his jacket "Right, let's go talk to Verity."

Teddy nodded and he and Laura followed him from the office.

* * *

With all the attention now being given to Diagon Alley, Knockturn Alley was once more left mostly unwatched. Two Law Officers and an Auror were keeping an eye on things near the point where the two streets met, but other than that the dark street was not being watched.

Willy Widdershins, a foul man fond of a bit of Muggle-baiting every now and again, staggered drunkenly out of The Spiny Serpent, his bag of gold now empty. He managed to make it halfway across to the other side of the narrow alley before tripping over his own feet and landing in the gutter. Grumbling he rolled over onto his back before deciding that this was the perfect place to spend the night getting a good, restful sleep.

Soon his snores filled the air.

A couple of doors away Silas Borgin, proprietor of Borgin and Burke's, pulled back an heavy black curtain and gazed out into the street below. He could just make out Widdershins in the gutter. He sneered, shut the curtain again and put up a spell to block out the man's monstrous snores that echoed in the narrow street.

What Borgin did not notice was the man making his way along the street towards Widdershins. The man wore a long trench coat with the collar pulled up, and a Homburg hat pulled low over his face.

He reached the snoring drunk and reached down to grab him.

Moments later, Willy Widdershins woke up in a world of pain.

He screamed a blood-curdling scream.

* * *

**A/N: And there's Chapter 2. Not really too much focus on the bad guy in this chapter, more just letting you know where people are at. There's more Hermione coming soon, as she's going to have her own theory on who this mysterious attacker is. Also there will be a bit on how she and Harry got together. Chapter 3 should delve into the case a bit more giving Harry and company a bit more to go on, so they can actually start investigating things at a more in-depth level. And yes, Harry will be pissed that Knockturn Alley wasn't being watched properly.**

**Anyway, see you soon for Chapter 3.**


	3. The Corpse in the Shop

Please note that this story is canon complaint up to the epilogue. However, as this story takes place seven years after the epilogue, there have been a few changes.

Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

**Auror Potter and the Creepy Case of Jack O'Lantern**

Chapter 3: The Corpse in the Shop

Harry flopped down onto the sofa in his front room as Hermione brought him a cup of tea. After spending twenty-seven hours on the go at the Ministry, Susan had commanded him to return home.

Once upon a time Harry Potter would have brushed of such an idea and simply carried on. Nowadays he knew better than to go against Susan when she told him to get some rest. If he didn't, she'd tell Hermione, and that was never a good thing.

"Rough time, huh?" asked Hermione, fondly.

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose and said frustratedly "Some of the Aurors dropped the ball, so to speak. After the attack on Verity, no one returned to their patrols in Knockturn Alley. Willy Widdershins was attacked and the perpetrator got away."

"Is he alright?" asked Hermione.

Harry shook his head "He's in a critical condition. The wounds are the same type as what Ginny received, only must worse."

Harry hated it when things like this happened. It was a stupid mistake to have made, but it was exactly that: a mistake. Despite everything Aurors were still human and were therefore capable of making mistakes.

Harry's frustration was mostly due to the fact that two attacks had happened the previous night, and they still had very little to go on.

The attack on Verity had been over so fast that she had nothing extra to add. And it seemed as though Willy Widdershins would not be speaking to anyone for quite some time. The only thing that they had gained was the fact that they now had Aurors who could confirm the escape method: a quick scramble up and over the nearest building.

"It's so frustrating." said Harry "That's three attacks now, and we've still got barely anything to go on."

"Well, tell me what you do know. Maybe I can help." offered Hermione.

Harry thought for a moment before responding "Well so far, each of the attacks has happened at night, within the vicinity of Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley. All three victims were alone at the time of attack, though thankfully help was never too far away. Verity wasn't injured too much, just a little sore from being thrown to the ground. Ginny and Widdershins both suffered bruising and burns. They have marks on their bodies that one would associate with friction burns obtained from a rope. Both also had long and deep wounds, like gouges. The attacker always appears in the same long trench coat and hat. These are used to disguise his appearance. All we know of his appearance is that he has glowing orange eyes. There seems to be no discrimination amongst the victims either, as each are of different blood status, different social status and different genders."

"Anything else?" asked Hermione.

"He always escaped by scaling the side of a building. He does this surprisingly quickly too, and there has been no trace of residual magic from cast spells."

Hermione thought for a good long while. Then she rose from her seat and approached the line of bookcases that stood against the wall on the far side of the room.

Harry took the time to reflect upon his and Hermione's life together. It was now four years since she and Ron had divorced, doing so a year after Harry made the decision to divorce Ginny. Harry and Hermione had not gotten together immediately following her divorce, as he and Susan were giving a relationship a go. They found that although they were the best partners, great friends and could have fantastic sex, there just wasn't that spark of true romance. Both Harry and Susan could quite happily have continued on with that situation, but in the end they decided to just call it quits. Two years after that, Harry and Hermione had decided to go on a one off date, just to see.

Two years later they were living together, and Harry was planning to pop the question soon.

"Have you ever heard of the legend of Spring-heeled Jack?" asked Hermione, breaking through Harry's reminiscing.

"Is he anything to do with Jack the Ripper?" Harry asked.

Hermione shook her head "No, Jack the Ripper was the name given to an unidentified serial killer. Spring-heeled Jack, on the other hand, is a folklore character from the Victorian era, something of an urban legend."

She placed the book that she held down in front of Harry "Common descriptions mentioned him having a frightful appearance, eyes like balls of red fire and hands that either were clawed or that had fake claws made of metal attached to the fingertips. Some reports gave him a demonic appearance; others suggested that his appearance was more like that of a tall and thin gentleman. A couple of reports claim that he was capable of breathing out blue and or white flames. Most important, however, was his ability to jump to astonishing heights, in one case easily leaping over a wall that was nine feet in height, and there are other reports of him leaping higher, even over houses."

Harry looked down at the book. The text was accompanied by a black and white sketch of a man with a large pointed chin and wearing a black cloak leaping over a wrought iron gate that, judging from the heights of the shocked onlooker, was at least eight or nine feet in height.

He frowned "Well, I can see the link. Breathing fire would account for the burns, and if we're wrong about the gouges in the flesh being made by whips then the clawed hands would offer an alternate explanation. The eyes like red fire closely match what was reported. The main discrepancy though is that Spring-heeled Jack could leap over buildings, our guy climbs them."

"Maybe that's the best way your guy could find of imitating Jack." said Hermione.

Harry nodded thoughtfully "I suppose so. Was Jack known to attack people, or was he just seen?"

"Mostly he was observed running and jumping, but yes there were a fair few attacks as well." said Hermione "He breathed fire in peoples' faces, terrifying them, and there were more than a few accounts of him using his claws to tear at clothing and flesh. Attacks usually occurred on women, but there were one or two attacks on men noted. Either way the victims of attack were usually on their own."

Harry sat back in his seat. An imitation of Spring-heeled Jack; he had to admit that it did seem rather plausible.

But it still begged the question of why would someone in the Wizarding world imitate a character from the urban legends of the muggle world?

Assuming that was what they were doing, of course.

* * *

Two whole days passed, and no further attacks were reported. That, however, might have been the result of another increase in patrol numbers in both Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley. These now included rooftop patrols, something Harry had suggested after telling Susan about Hermione's Spring-heeled Jack theory. Once she heard the folklore stories, Susan too had conceded the similarities between the urban legend and the case that they were now having to deal with.

Harry and Susan had just sat down for their lunch break when Rose Zeller hurried into the room. Harry liked Rose; she was one of his favourites. In fact it was from Rose that Hermione's daughter had gotten her name. At the time of the younger Rose's birth, Harry, Hermione and a few others had been on the hit list of a group of Death Eater wannabes who broke into St. Mungo's hospital and tried to attack Hermione there when she was giving birth. Rose Zeller had been assigned on protection to guard Hermione just in case the Death Eaters tried anything. When they attacked, Rose was in place to not only raise the alarm but also hold off the group until other Aurors could arrive. Rose had been quite badly injured, but she had done her job and Hermione named her daughter in honour of her protector.

To this day Rose still bore a scar on her left cheek, an ever-present reminder of that day.

She approached Harry and Susan, looking a little anxious "We've just received word of a suspicious death in Knockturn Alley. We don't know if it's linked to the attacks, but…"

Harry nodded and got up "I'll come with you to look into it."

Harry and Rose left Susan behind and headed out, gathering Teddy, Laura and Burke to join them in the investigation.

* * *

The Plant Emporium of Knockturn Alley seemed, at first glance, to be a surprisingly respectful little shop, something entirely out of place in Knockturn Alley. However the image of the quaint little shop where you could shop for pumpkin seeds, trays of young moonflowers and bags of Hippogriff manure was merely a front for a more sinister business. As with the crossbreeding of magical creatures, the crossbreeding of magical plants was heavily monitored by the Ministry of Magic. The owner of this shop, however, snubbed such things and crossbred any plant he felt like. Six months ago he'd had to pay a massive fine for somehow crossbreeding a Whomping Willow with a blackberry bush. And one he had spent a year in Azkaban for crossbreeding bubotubers with snargaluffs.

Therefore, when Harry and the others entered the shop, they knew to expect anything.

They met a man whom Rose identified as having been the one to raise the alarm.

"Can you tell us what happened?" asked Harry.

"Well, I came in looking to by some Dragon Dung, but I couldn't find the owner. I went into the backroom and found him."

The man led them over to a door and said "I'll not go in, if you don't mind. I don't really want to see him again."

Harry pushed open the door and balked at the sight that met him.

The owner of the store was obviously dead. Strong thick vines were wrapped tightly around his neck, chest, arms and legs. As the vines were moving, Harry suspected them to be Tentacula, or at least something related. Worse was the strange looking stuff that appeared to be growing over his body. It kind of looked like some kind of fungus.

Harry stepped further into the room. He lit his wand, something which caused the vines to shy away. He held his wand up to illuminate the man's face. It was crusted with fungus, but not enough to hide that the man had obviously been dead for a while. Perhaps a week, maybe even a fortnight.

"What is this stuff?" asked Burke, leaning over the fungus. Suddenly the tip of one of the stems of fungus burst, shooting a small cloud of spores right into Burke's face, causing him to reel back in disgust.

"Wash that off, we don't know what it is." said Harry before turning to the others "We're going to have to lock this place down until we identify the cause of death. I'm tempted to say that these vines are Tentacula, but they don't look right and, knowing this place, they could be anything. Teddy, use the floo to contact Neville at Hogwarts, see if he can come down and identify this stuff. It might require special handling."

Teddy nodded and hurried off to the fireplace.

* * *

Neville Longbottom entered the room with a little caution. He had arranged it so that his lessons would be covered by another member of staff so that he could help Harry out.

When he first left his day as a student of Hogwarts behind him, Neville had initially joined the ranks of the Aurors as a trainee, and he had been in the same class as Harry and Susan. Following the amount of growing up he did during the war, and during his seventh year in particular, Neville handled the course very well. In fact, were it not for Harry and Susan being in the same group, Neville would have been top of his class.

There was a problem though; although he enjoyed the training, and loved spending time with the group, to Neville becoming an Auror never felt right. It was almost as if he was doing it because it was expected of him. It was like he was being pushed to do it.

And everyone had sensed that. Even to this day there was no doubt in Harry Potter's mind that Neville would have made a very good Auror, possibly one of the best, but his heart just wasn't in it. Neville's true calling had always been, and would always be the world of Herbology.

Harry and Susan had been the ones to sit him down one day and discuss his feelings on the subject. The result was that Neville left the Auror program and took Professor Sprout up on her offer for his to apprentice under her and eventually take over her job when she retired.

Nowadays Neville was renowned in his field, highly respected and sought after for advice. Frequently Harry drafted him in to help the Aurors deal with plant related matters. Usually it involved plants that could fight back, such as devil's snare.

Doing his best to ignore the body, he approached the vines. One lashed out at him but he caught it in a firm grip. Immediately it began coiling around his hand, trying to crush it like a python trying to crush its prey.

"Any ideas?" asked Harry.

"Yes," replied Neville "Venomous Tentacula, crossed with Devil's Snare." He gestured towards the body "He was probably struck by one of the vines, fell into it and got strangled to death before he could escape."

"And the fungus?" asked Teddy.

"I don't know." said Neville as he eased his hand out of the vine's grip "Fungi aren't really my area of expertise, but I should be able to find out easily enough."

He took a small glass phial out of his pocket, and a pair of thick, dragon-hide gloves. He put on the gloves and approached the body. Gently, so as to not draw the ire of the vines, he reached out the hand holding the phial and scraped it over the surface of the skin on the man's right arm. Most of the fungus remained intact, but parts broke off and slid into the phial. Neville backed away from the body and out into the shop's main room. Everyone else followed.

"I'd better do my testing here." said Neville, putting the phial down on the desk before picking up the bag he brought with him.

"Are we alright to leave?" asked Harry.

Neville nodded as he took an assortment of different apparatus and bottles of potions out of his bag "Yes, as long as you use thorough decontamination spells on your clothes, your hair and your skin. Oh, and make sure you do under your fingernails as well.

"Alright," said Harry, turning to the others "Medley and Burke, you two stay here with Neville, the rest of you, let's go. Teddy, I believe you're on patrol in Diagon in an hour or so."

After thoroughly blasting themselves and the shop's would-be customer with powerful decontamination spells designed to kill off unwanted microbes, they left Neville to it.

* * *

Saturday night for Muggles the length and breadth of the British Isles was party night, and the people of London were no exception. Along each street, night time revellers staggered noisily and drunkenly from one pub or nightclub to another, sometimes alone or as couples, sometimes as part of a group.

The doors of one of the nightclubs burst open to allow six highly inebriated young women to come crashing and tumbling out, each one nearly popping out of their pretty much in-existent tops and each risking serious injuries to their feet and ankles due to their high heel shoes. They were, of course, on a hen-night.

The stumbled about and cackled madly for a bit, in that way that only really, really drunk women can do, before the bride to be, whose ensemble for the evening included the mandatory learner plate stuck to her back, announced rather loudly and quite unabashedly that she needed the toilet before stumbling towards the dark and narrow alley between two clubs before hitching up her skirt (that looked more like a belt) and squatting down behind a big blue dumpster.

A little further down the alley, a figure came down from the roof and landed without a sound.

She didn't notice him.

He began to stalk forwards.

Relieved, she stood up and immediately noticed her error. She hadn't taken her panties off.

Quickly she peeled them off and slung them into the open dumpster before staggering back out into the street to re-join her friends.

The figure kept coming forwards, and soon every member of the group was visible to him.

Just them a police car rolled up, headlights shining brightly. The figure turned away from the lights and quickly disappeared down the alley before scrambling back up the wall as the two policemen who had been in the car got out of it and proceeded to try and convince the girls that they had had enough partying for one night and that they really ought to go home before one of them got hurt or collapsed due to alcohol poisoning.

* * *

**A/N: There, that's Chapter 3. What would a good mystery be without a mislead? By the way, I should apologise, as I fully intended to write this chapter and upload it yesterday evening. Instead I got an offer to go for a few drinks down the pub. It was only meant to be for an hour or so, and I intended to have two, tops, so that I'd still be okay to finish this chapter afterwards. Thank God I already booked today off from work. I would definitely not have made it in.**

**In writing this chapter is occurred to me that a lot of the backstories I've been giving the characters have been very close to events I planned to include in "The Auror Chronicles" (working titles) which a planned story of mine that just does not seem to want to get off the ground yet. Should I ever get around to writing it, I might just have to work out a way to make this story a part of that universe.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed the update. More on the way.**


	4. The Smell of Pumpkin

Please note that this story is canon complaint up to the epilogue. However, as this story takes place seven years after the epilogue, there have been a few changes.

Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

**Auror Potter and the Creepy Case of Jack O'Lantern**

Chapter 4: The Smell of Pumpkin

Harry was scribbling out the paperwork that came following the death of the shop owner. His quill paused over one of the information boxes and he looked up.

"Teddy, have we found out the guy's next of kin yet?"

"Still workin' on it." Teddy called from his desk where he was rifling through a hundred or more sheets of parchment "The sooner the Wizengamot gets their collective heads out of their arses and agrees to allow us use muggle computers to store all this crap the better."

"Just a few more to die, then we can work on convincing their successors." replied Harry, in a placating tone.

Susan came out of her office and set another stack of parchment onto Harry's desk.

He looked up to her with wounded eyes, silently asking her why she would choose to torment him with more paperwork.

"Tracey's just called from St. Mungo's." she explained "Ginny's woken up. She could have some more information for us."

"About time she served some kind of use." Harry muttered.

"And in addition she said that Widdershins snuffed it this morning, so that avenue of questioning is closed to us."

"Damn." Harry cursed.

Susan shrugged her shoulders "Those are the brakes, I guess. I'll leave it up to you two to decide who gets to deal with your ex-wife and who gets to examine the stiff."

Harry and Teddy exchanged looks before engaging in a game of rock paper scissors.

"HA!" laughed Harry "Scissors cut paper, I win. You deal with Ginny."

"Oh come on," pleased Teddy "Best of three!"

* * *

Grumbling bad temperedly, Teddy made his way towards the ward where Ginny was currently residing. The game had gone as far as best seven out of thirteen and Harry had still won.

He made his way around the screen and found Ginny sitting up in bed, propped against her pillows.

Ginny eyed him coldly "Can't face me himself, can he?"

Teddy was in no mood for any of her crap "Oh quit whining. Just answer my questions so I can get out of here."

In the end Ginny had nothing to much to offer. All the evidence she was able to give just confirmed what they had to go on already.

"Have there been any more attacks?" Ginny asked as Teddy was making to leave.

"Two," he replied "Verity Lee was attacked in Diagon Alley, but help turned up before she got too seriously injured. Willy Widdershins was attacked in Knockturn Alley. He died of his injuries earlier today."

"Shame." said Ginny "I always liked Willy."

"A friend?" asked Teddy.

"Good customer." answered Ginny "Always tipped well."

Suppressing a shudder, Teddy left.

Outside the ward he bumped into George and Angelina.

"Going to see your sister?" he asked.

George shrugged "Thought we might pop in for a couple of minutes, just to save arguments. Verity's being discharged in a bit and we're here to help her home because Lee can't. If mum ever gets wind of the fact that we came here bit didn't come to see Ginny we wouldn't hear the end of it for three months."

Teddy nodded his head in understanding "Gotcha. Well, I gotta get back to the office, so I'll see ya later."

With that they parted ways.

* * *

Tracey led Harry into the mortuary. Willy Widdershins' body was laid out on a table.

"You did an amazing job patching him up." Harry observed.

Tracey nodded but added "He'd have been scarred for life if he'd lived. Some of those wounds were very deep."

"Anything else come up at all? Anything that might tell us who the killer was?"

Tracey shook her head "No, nothing. Daphne's doing some tests on a blood sample we took shortly before he died, but we don't expect anything to show up."

Harry nodded in understanding before drawing his wand and casting some diagnostic charms. He hated doing this as it looked like he was questioning the healers' work, but it was standard procedure and he had to do it.

"Checks out." he muttered to himself before turning back to Tracey "Alright, well I guess that's that. Get that copy of your report to me a quickly as you can so I can shove it into the file. Do we know if he had a next of kin?"

Tracey shook her head "No one."

"Better get a copy of the report to Gringotts as well. You know what the Goblins are like. You don't need to be cold before they want to start distributing your stuff."

Tracey gave a nod "Alright. I expect Daphne will have the results ready by tomorrow morning. I can sort everything out then."

* * *

Hit Witch Padma Patil walked along the darkened street in silence. For weeks now she had been stalking her old classmate Theodore Nott, watching his every move and taking detailed notes of every crime she saw him commit.

Being a Nott meant that he had a lot of supporters in the ranks of the Wizengamot. Padma needed to build an airtight case against him before bringing him in.

And today was capture day.

Under a powerful disillusionment charm she made her was towards the muggle brothel that Nott liked to frequent.

Theodore Nott was a creature of habit, and by her calculations, he'd be turning up for his regular Sunday evening shag in the next three minutes.

She took up a strategic position that allowed her to view the street in both directions whilst keeping her relatively well hidden should her disillusionment charm suddenly decide to wear off unexpectedly. It shouldn't, but you could never be too careful.

Very few people ever learned that she was with the ranks of the Hit Wizards, as that would bring all kinds of trouble to right to her doorstep. Her official cover story was that she was a researcher for the DMLE, working under Hermione Granger. All paperwork containing her job status listed that as her occupation.

When people heard the title "Hit Wizard" they often assumed that the person in question was some kind of assassin employed by the Ministry. To an extent that was true, but those sorts of jobs only came up every once in a while, when a really dangerous criminal was on the loose. Most of the time Padma's job was doing exactly this: stalking, observing, waiting. In that way she was more like an undercover cop than anything else.

There was currently a bit of excitement in the air amongst her fellow hit wizards; there was someone or something out there had had attacked three people and evaded capture each time. It wouldn't be long before someone decided to bring in a few hit wizards to help out.

Padma became a hit witch shortly after the war. A group of Death Eaters who had evaded capture had come to her parents' home looking to boost their morale with a couple of murders. They had killed her father only because they had caught the family by surprise. Clearly those people hadn't known that Padma and Parvati Patil had been a part of the D.A. during that time at Hogwarts, and the two sisters wasted no time in avenging their father and ruthlessly defending their mother and three younger siblings.

Following that Padma had joined the Hit Wizards. She had initially looked into becoming an Auror, but the Hit Wizards had a shorter training program and weren't expected to show so much restraint in taking down the real bad guys. The more plain the fuckers suffered the better, as far as Padma was concerned.

Voices at the end of the street drew her attention. She saw Nott making his way towards her, and he had someone with him.

Usually that meant she would be expected to abandon this attempt at capture, but she quickly recognised the second man as Draco Malfoy.

She had been waiting a long time to successfully bring Nott in. Having the chance to get his most frequent accomplice just made the deal even sweeter.

The pair drew closer, laughing and guffawing drunkenly and not paying the slightest bit of attention to their surroundings.

Perfect.

She raised both her primary wand and her spare. No point in catching just the one with surprise only to give the other a chance to fight.

She waited for them to get just a little closer.

Nearly there…

Suddenly a body sprang down from the rooftop on the opposite side of the street and landed on top of the two men. Both immediately began shouting and screaming in agony.

Padma cursed. As much as she thought the two bastards deserved it, in this case she needed to bring them in alive and as unhurt as possible. With people like these, injuring them only soured the majority of the Wizengamot against you and that damaged your case.

She jumped forwards and blasted the attacker with two stunning spells, but they didn't seem to affect him.

He stopped attacking though and looked up at her as Nott and Malfoy struggled beneath it.

Beneath the hat she saw two glowing red eyes and suddenly she knew that she was facing the one responsible for the attacks in Diagon and Knockturn Alleys.

Suddenly he lunged towards her and Padma fired off a blasting hex. He reeled back as what she assumed was blood (she couldn't see it too well in the darkness) splattered the tarmac road. Quickly she bound him in ropes before grabbing up her communication crystal.

"This is Hit Witch Padma Patil. I've found the Knockturn/Diagon attacker. I repeat this is Hit Witch Padma Patil. I've found the Knockturn/Diagon attacker."

Although his arms were clearly trapped her prisoner quickly began tearing through her ropes. She sent more to wrap themselves around him, but he just kept on tearing at them, despite his arms still being securely bound.

It was as if he had more than one pair of arms.

She struck him with another stunner, and another, followed by the full body-bind.

Nothing seemed to work.

She didn't particularly want to kill him, she figured that Potter and Bones wanted this one for questioning, but it was rapidly looking like she'd have to for her own safety. Either that or she would have to just get herself out of there and let him get away again.

Suddenly she was struck by what felt like a whip across her face. She saw stars and she reeled back from the blow. She could tell she was bleeding.

Lights were turning on in every building up and down the street. They allowed her to see him even through the haze of pain. He lunged.

"Reducto!" she screamed, and the spell exploded from the tip of her wand. She was splattered in liquid and goop as the attacker screamed.

She used her sleeve to wipe the stuff out of her eyes and looked for him again.

He was scrambling erratically up the side of one of the buildings. She aimed her wand and fired at him, but he suddenly sprang away from the wall and landing on the wall of the building on the other side of the street.

Suddenly there was popping sounds all around, signalling the arrival of many Aurors.

They all immediately opened fire and a plethora of spells began to rain upon the figure even as he continued to scramble erratically up walls and jump from building to building in and attempt to escape.

Finally he made it up to one of the rooftops and out of sight of those on the street below. Immediately over two dozen Aurors began apparating to the roof.

Harry Potter remained to deal with the victims. He had two Aurors portkey Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott to St Mungo's before turning to Padma.

"You okay?" he asked.

Dazed and confused, with the adrenaline of the fight quickly beginning to wear off, Padma asked the first question that came to mind.

"Why can I smell Pumpkin?"

* * *

"Shit." Neville cursed, turning away from the body and addressing the Aurors with real urgency in his tone of voice "Laura, go alert Harry. These spores are very dangerous, and there's more to these vines than I first thought."

As Laura hurried off Burke noticeably paled "The spores are dangerous?" he asked.

"Yeah, why?" asked Neville.

"I got a face full of them."

Neville's eyes widened "Why the hell didn't you say? Get the hell over to St Mungo's. Tell them you need a full flushing of your respiratory system, including your blood stream. The very fact that you aren't dead means you've still got time."

Burke nodded and made a quick call to the office, alerting them as to where he was going and why. He also requested that someone come to be with Neville.

* * *

"Sir," said one of the Aurors, Euan Abercrombie, as he approached Harry "We've got him."

"That's fantastic." said Harry, who had just seen to it that a couple of Aurors escorted Padma to St. Mungo's "Get him to HQ, quickly."

"He's already been taken." said Euan "But there's probably something you ought to know-"

He was cut off buy the arrival of Laura "Harry, you've got to come. Neville says there's more to the plants and spores than he first thought-"

She broke off as she took in the scene surrounding her "What the hell happened here?"

* * *

"You're not going to like this." said Daphne Greengrass as she entered Tracey's office in St. Mungo's.

"Why?" asked Tracey as she took the folder that her long-time friend had handed her.

She opened it and found that the folder contained the results of Willy Widdershins' last blood test.

She frowned in confusion "Spores?"

Just then Auror Burke turned up, clearly a bit unnerved "Um, hi. Neville Longbottom sent me. I've been exposed to some stuff that he says needs to be flushed out of my lungs and blood stream."

Ever the healer, Tracey set Widdershins' blood test results aside to help out someone who was still alive.

* * *

In the mortuary, deep down below the main hospital, no one was there to observe the body of Willy Widdershins. And no one, therefore, noticed the single, tiny stem of a fungus that was beginning to grow out of one of the wounds on his arm.

It would be the first of many.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Some of you have probably worked out what is going on by now, if not they I'm sure you'll know by the end of the next chapter (probably because I plan to tell you).**


	5. An Explanation

Please note that this story is canon complaint up to the epilogue. However, as this story takes place seven years after the epilogue, there have been a few changes.

Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

**Auror Potter and the Creepy Case of Jack O'Lantern**

Chapter 5: An Explanation

Hermione wrinkled her nose in disgust as she examined the body. Devoid of his cloak and hat, the mysterious attacker was revealed to have a surprising identity.

"Neville, can you tell us just what the hell we are looking at?" asked Harry.

Neville nodded "Well, simply put it's an overgrown mandrake with a pumpkin for its head and a crossbreed of venomous tentacula and devil's snare for its arms and legs. Multiple arms and legs, I might add."

"I think we'd gathered that much." said Susan, weakly. She was wearing thick dragon-skin gloves for protection, picked up one of the vines to better inspect it "The real question is why?"

"Well, I found some notes in the shop, and you probably won't believe what they said." said Neville.

"Neville, I've been in the Wizarding world for thirty four years out of the forty four I have lived," said Harry, exasperatedly "I very much doubt that there's much left that would surprise me."

"Well, think of the holiday that's coming up soon." said Neville "In about a fortnight."

Hermione frowned "Halloween? But what's that got to do with anything?"

Neville gestured to the body "Decoration." he said by way of explanation "As you can see by the fact that there is a face carved into the pumpkin. The glowing eyes were the result of the illumination charm inside."

"But why was it alive?" asked Teddy, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"That was the idea." said Neville "The guy sells them as decorations, and the fact that they can move is part of the appeal."

"I suppose." muttered Harry, all the while wondering what kind of weirdo would want something like this "_decorating_" the outside of his house, even if it was for Halloween "And I suppose that the mandrake part accounts for the fact that it could scream, at least in pain. I assume that there was something in place to prevent the scream being deadly?"

Neville nodded.

"But that still doesn't explain why it went around attacking people." said Susan.

"True." said Neville "But this does."

And with that he drew his wand and hit the body with a spell to make it roll over onto its front, revealing…

"The fungus from the shop?" asked Harry.

Neville nodded "When we first saw it, I thought that it was just something extra; something that grew after the victim had been strangled by the vines. Then I had a closer look. Turns out it's a parasite, and a deadly one.

Hermione frowned "But surely it's more beneficial to a parasite if the host stays alive."

Neville shook his head "Not always. This one has spores that affect the host's mind and causes them to wander about. It's easier for the fungus to spread its spores out into other hosts that way. The host eventually dies, but by that time they have carried the fungus another location, allowing it to spread out amongst a whole other group of potential victims."

"So you're saying that this fungus somehow infected the mandrake?" asked Teddy.

"Exactly. Mandrakes are semi-sentient; they do have a small level of awareness of self and the world around them. The fungus got to this one and began growing. Looking for more hosts, the fungus forced the plant to break free and has been on the prowl ever since. The shop owner was probably infected during the escape, if not before then. The spores caused him to lose all sense of self and he stumbled into the plants that we found him strangled by."

"So this fungus can affect humans as well as mandrakes?" asked Hermione.

Neville gave a nod "Yes, which is why everyone who had had contact with it will need a vigorous system-flush, particularly of their blood stream. That includes everyone in this room, everyone who was attacked and everyone who was present when it was brought down."

"So we could potentially be looking at an epidemic." stated Susan.

"Maybe." said Neville "But remember that it does not travel from person to person, nor do the spores survive long in the air; they need to be picked up by a host fairly quickly and get into their bloodstream. They usually do this through the respiratory system, but an open wound would do."

Harry's eyes widened "That's why it kept attacking people; so its spores could get into their bloodstream quicker."

"But if that's the case then why did it kill Willy Widdershins?" asked Rose "He didn't have time to go about spreading spores."

"No, but don't forget Widdershins didn't die on the scene, he died later in hospital; plenty of time to go about infecting others."

Harry nodded thoughtfully "Alright, well we'd better get everyone we can disinfected. We also had better quarantine every area an attack took place until we're sure that each is free of spores. We'll have to quarantine St Mungo's as well. I think we need to be thankful that this thing won't go from human to human without the fungus actively growing from them."

Susan gave a nod "I'll contact Verity over at WWW. I know she was given an all clear, but I think that we'd better take no chances with this."

"Just out of curiosity" said Laura "why did it put on a coat and hat?"

"Well, either the shop owner put them on it himself, or it put them on as a direct result of the fact that the devil's snare part of it hates sunlight." explained Neville.

"That would also explain why it always attacked in the dark." said Hermione, thoughtfully.

"Neville, are there any outward symptoms to watch out for?" asked Susan "You know, other than the fungus growing over the body and the erratic behaviour?"

"Bad cough, possibly with blood, dizziness and/or light-headedness are the main ones to watch out for." replied Neville "They all occur before the fungus begins to grow. So long as they haven't already died from it, everyone can recover from the fungus, which can be killed by freezing it. I've sent this info over to Tracey, and I believe she's dealing with the attack victims as we speak."

"Can the fungus be burnt off?" asked Laura.

"It can," replied Neville "but that only causes a die back. To kill it completely, and thus eradicate the infestation entirely you need to freeze it."

"Alright everyone," said Harry "I want this room fully sealed, then we're all off to St Mungo's for a thorough decontamination."

Everyone nodded in agreement before turning to leave.

Once they were all out of the small room, and the door sealed shut behind them, a small beetle that none of them had noticed in the darkness of the far corner of the room suddenly began to morph and change until Rita Skeeter was standing there.

The last few years had not been kind to Rita. Potter and Bones had come down on her hard a couple of years after the war, resulting in a six-month prison sentence and a ban that meant that Rita Skeeter could no longer publish anything anywhere ever again. Of course that just meant that Rita had to adopt a pseudonym in order to continue writing. It was a rookie mistake by Potter and Bones that allowed her to continue. Her bosses at the Daily Prophet were more than happy to cover up for her as long as her stories continued to prove favourable.

She had gotten away with it for a good few years. Then the Aurors got wind of the fact that the Daily Prophet was hacking people's floo systems to monitor their calls and get secret details. When Harry Potter has discovered that Rita Skeeter was not only still working for the Prophet, but also one of the main perpetrators behind the floo hacking scandal, he had had to be forcibly restrained by his partner and two others. It was just as well he had, otherwise he would probably have gotten into trouble if he had killed her.

Rita had spent three years in Azkaban that time, and was nearly made broke once all damages had been paid for.

Now she was back and looking for her next big scoop. Luckily for her she had, shortly after her first release from prison, discovered how to perform a spell upon herself that fooled the anti-animagus spell that protected the Ministry building. It had allowed her to sneak in here, and Potter didn't have a clue.

She had heard everything and now just needed to take a couple of photographs as proof, which her employers insisted she have these says.

She took several and then changed back into her beetle form. She knew that she needed treatment from the spores, as she was bound to have inhaled them by now, but she had a couple of contacts within St Mungo's that would help her out.

All she had to do for now was wait for someone to re-enter the room so she could make her escape. Potter or Longbottom would be back to dispose of the body soon, she expected.

* * *

As Hermione went behind one of the screens, a wheelchair-bound Ginny was pushed out from behind another. Harry quickly looked away from her, and he heard her indignant "Hmphf" as she went by.

Teddy smirked at him before heading behind the screen Ginny had come from.

Turning his attention to Tracey, who was making her way along the line, handing out a potion for everyone to take he asked "How's things going?"

"We should be fine." said Tracey "With a positive I.D. on the fungus we were able to quickly put in place the proper counter measures. Still, we've called in every off-duty healer just in case there's a mad rush or something."

Just then Susan came out from behind another screen, having just endured twenty minutes of deep cleansing.

She shuddered and muttered "Horrible."

Harry chuckled before asking "You gonna go put the word out so that people know what symptoms to look for?"

Susan nodded in response "Yeah. Once you're done, can you go oversee the decontaminations?"

"Not a problem." replied Harry,

"Harry Potter." called the healer who had just treated Susan.

"Gotta go." said Harry, with false joy "Nothing like a good, invasive medical procedure to brighten one's day!"

* * *

Rita was beginning to feel a little dizzy, and she didn't like it as it was not alcohol-induced. It never even entered her tiny mind that in her smaller form, the spores were able to affect her and take hold far more quickly.

She felt like going for a little wander.

* * *

Lighting flashed across the night sky, thunder rumbled in the air and Harry scrunched his nose up indignantly as the first drops of rain began to fall.

"Come on James." he shouted to his oldest son, a trainee Auror in his second year "The sooner we can get this done, the sooner we can get ourselves in the dry."

James gave him a cheeky salute before resuming blasting the tarmac with the decontamination spell.

Thankfully since the attack in this Muggle Street, the Police had kept the area cordoned off from other muggles, allowing no one in or out, reducing the chances of infection dramatically. The muggles had been made aware of the symptoms to look out for, however; just in case.

Watching James as he worked made Harry think of all his children. James had been a pain through most of his Hogwarts career, often resulting in letters being sent home to Harry. James had never applied himself too much to his schoolwork and was often causing trouble, never anything serious, just the odd practical joke or other with his friends. Then, in his seventh year he had suddenly buckled down and began working hard. This was due to his new girlfriend Alison Longbottom, daughter of Neville and Hannah. She and James were still together.

Albus had turned out to be a bit of a surprise. First of all it was the fact that he wasn't Harry's child. Ginny's betrayal and lies had really damaged the family, but once she was gone things had quickly begun to repair, especially when Harry, James and Lily had informed Albus that, despite everything, he was still a part of their family. For all his fear and doubt about ending up in Slytherin instead of Gryffindor, he had actually ended up in neither. Instead the Hogwarts Sorting Hat had declared Ravenclaw to be where he belonged, along with his cousin Rose Weasley. Albus was brilliant at charms and had recently gotten an offer to study under Professor Flitwick for a Charms Mastery upon completing his Hogwarts education. This was something Harry's own mother had been aiming to do before Voldemort had turned his attentions specifically unto the Potter family. There had been some doubts as to Albus' sexuality, until just this past summer when Cho Chang's daughter Hua had come for a visit. Albus had locked his bedroom door for a reason!

As much as he loved the boy, Harry deeply regretted inflicting the child with the terrible name of Albus Severus. Thankfully Albus was nothing like either of his namesakes.

Lily had her father wrapped around her little finger and she knew it. She needed to be as well, as there was no way in hell he'd have let her join the Quidditch team in her first year without her being able to affect him with the infamous puppy-eye stare that she had perfected quite early on in life. She was seeker and captain for the Gryffindor side and loved it. Harry knew that the Holyhead Harpies already had their eye on her, which was why he was anxiously awaiting the final Gryffindor match of the current school year, which would be attended by scouts from the Tutshill Tornados, the Haileybury Hammers and the Ballycastle Bats. Hopefully one of them would coax her away from the lure of the Harpies. To the best of Harry's knowledge, Lily was still single (though she would probably keep a relationship a secret anyway). He did know that Luna's twin sons Lorcan and Lysander both had huge crushes on her.

Nowadays, of course, thinking of his kids meant thinking of Hermione's as well. Rose was scary smart like her mother and this year's Head Girl. She naturally excelled at everything, even History of Magic. In fact, she was able to concentrate so well In Professor Binns' mind-numbingly dull lectures that she was actually taking it for her N.E.W.T's, something that had the Hogwarts' Professors looking into signing her on as History of Magic Professor to replace Binns. She was undecided on that idea though. In her personal life, Rose was single, though displayed a bit of interest in Katie Bell's son Ross, though he didn't seem to return it. In fact Rose's love life currently seemed to consist of nothing more than fending off the advances of Scorpius Malfoy, who proved once and for all that Malfoy's get dumber with each generation. Not only does he not accept "no" for an answer, he doesn't accept a knee in the balls as an answer, either. No matter how many times Rose had to give it to him. Not that Scorpius' actions were anything more than a little annoying. Any worse and Harry would be paying the lad a visit.

Hugo was not as intelligent as his mother and sister, but thankfully more than his father. Hugo, like Lily was on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, playing in the Chaser position, a role he relished. Harry and Lily were the only two people in the world to know that Hugo, unlike Albus, actually was gay. But he wasn't ready for everyone to know just yet. Lily had only found out because she had walked in on him kissing Colin Creevey (the son of Dennis Creevey, not the one who died in the war) in a disused classroom. And Harry only knew because Lily had needed to talk with someone about what she had discovered. This had resulted in Harry having a talk with Hugo about it. A bit of acceptance on the matter went a long way in boosting the boy's confidence.

Each of the kids had displayed their own differing levels of doubts and concerns when Harry and Hermione had first gotten together, all except Rose who had been all for it the moment her parents' divorce was a done deal. Thankfully all of their doubts had faded away within the first few months they had all come to accept the situation. James had even expressed disbelief that their family had not always been that way; Harry and Hermione as the parents with all five kids as siblings.

So long as Hermione said yes to the next big question he'd ask her, Harry was sure that that notion would become a bit more official soon.

"Dad, I think we're done." James called, breaking through Harry's thoughts.

Harry came forward and swept the area with diagnostic charms. All that came up was a little blip on the edge of a small pothole, and James quickly rectified that.

"Alright then," said Harry "just the rooftop to go, then we're done."

* * *

Unrealised by everyone was the fact that there hadn't just been one plant monster grown and infected. They had gotten one, out in Muggle London, but there was a second out there. The third (technically the first) had never left the magical district. As the one in Muggle London was hiding from the bright lights of the city, the other sprang down from the roof of Borgin and Burke's in Knockturn Alley and crossed the street, keeping to the shadows to avoid being seen by the Aurors on duty. Then it climbed up the wall of the pub, the Spiny Serpent and onto its roof. There it found a way inside and it dragged itself through.

There, in amongst the rafters the fungal infection it carried became too much for it and it died. The fungus then began releasing all of its spores which hung in the air and quickly began to drift down through the cracks and woodworm-holes in the poorly maintained wood and into the full bar room below.

* * *

**A/N: So there you have it. The creature is finally revealed. Some of you might think it a little weird, but given than this story it titled "Auror Potter and the Creepy Case of Jack O'Lantern" what did you think it was going to be, a Vampire?**

**Also on the issue of the fungus, some of you might think that such a thing doesn't exist. If you do think that, then I suggest you look up the _Cordyceps_ Fungus and related species. I'm fairly certain that they only infect insects and arachnids, and possibly other species of fungus. If you really want to appreciate this thing, get a hold of the BBC series Planet Earth. I think it's the "Jungles" episode. Watch what that poor ant goes through and then just imagine if such a thing could latch onto people! **_**- shudder -**_


	6. Epidemic

Please note that this story is canon complaint up to the epilogue. However, as this story takes place seven years after the epilogue, there have been a few changes.

Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

**Auror Potter and the Creepy Case of Jack O'Lantern**

Chapter 6: Epidemic

Donning a protective suit, Hermione Granger prepared herself to take part in the examination of the mandrake-pumpkin-tentacula-snare-fungus monstrosity that was locked securely inside one of the research labs. Although Neville had given them all the low-down on what the thing actually was, Hermione's task was to look even deeper. Although the four plant species had been identified by Neville, the fungus was still a mystery. That it was a deadly parasite that spread itself though contaminating spores was, by now, obvious, but they still did not really know _what_ it was. Fungal infections were known to affect humans, of course; athlete's foot was a good example, and parasites were well established irritants and killers of humans; tape worms, fleas and plasmodium (malaria being the name given to an infection of the latter) were the more obvious examples.

Parasitoid fungus, on the other hand, was not explicitly known in humans. Not like this, anyway. The closest thing they could find that even resembled this in the natural world was the genus of fungi called _Cordyceps_ and its immediate relatives. They were known to infect and kill insects, such as ants and crickets, other arthropods, such as spiders, and a few kinds infected other kinds fungi. A couple of related species also attacked nematodes (also known as roundworms and a good number of them were parasitic as well). However, this kind of this was not known to affect humans. In fact, it was not known to affect any mammal species on the planet. Or bird, reptile, amphibian or fish.

While everyone else was going around trying to control the spread of infection, Hermione's job, as head of the DMLE forensics department (something brought in at Harry's insistence) was to discover everything she could about the fungus.

Was it an existing species of parasitic fungus that suddenly made the move to infect humans?

Was it a fungus that already affected humans that had suddenly become far more deadly?

Or was it something far more sinister, such an experiment that went wrong or an intentional creation?

These questions and many more were what Hermione had to now find answers to.

The door to her office opened and Victoire Weasley, the daughter of Bill and Fleur entered the room, already wearing her protective suit.

"Ready to go?" Hermione asked the young woman who was both her niece and her assistant.

"I think so." replied Victoire, not sounding too sure of it.

"It'll be fine." said Hermione "The thing's dead. Horribly disgusting, yes; but definitely dead."

Victoire nodded and followed Hermione as she led the way out of the office.

Hermione Granger had not originally intended to become the Wizarding World's equivalent of a forensics detective, mostly because such a thing had not existed within magical society at the time of her leaving school. In fact her first job, though in the Ministry, had nothing to do with the magical law enforcement department. She had joined the Department for the regulation and control of magical creatures, and it had been a good thing that she did so.

Following the end of the war against Lord Voldemort, the Goblins of Gringotts had tried to stage a rebellion, trying to use Harry, Hermione and Ron's robbing of the bank as an excuse to block off the wizards' access to their money at a time when it was so desperately needed it in the hope that this would aid them in wrangling numerous concessions out of the Ministry. Following her dealings with the treacherous goblin Griphook, Hermione lost all sympathy for the Goblin nation; the fact that the little bastards would try and use the despair of war to further their own agenda only soured her opinion towards the lot of them.

Despite their discontented grumblings about the behaviours of wizards towards them, Goblins were just as guilty of failing to uphold their ends of numerous treaties between the two nations, in fact sometimes more so than wizards. And it was that behaviour on their part that allowed Hermione to prevent further bloodshed from occurring.

Being one of the few students in history to stay awake during Professor Binns' History of Magic class at school allowed Hermione to recall a reference to a treaty set up with the Goblin nation shortly after the fall of Gellert Grindelwald. As the Aurors had gathered in Diagon Alley ready to go toe to toe with the Goblin Warriors standing in battle formation on the steps of the bank, Junior Assistant Hermione Granger rifled through piles of parchment in searched of what she needed. She found it and she apparated straight to the front line where she met with Minister for Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt, with was trying to negotiate a peaceful end to the rebellion. The evidence that Hermione had found halted the battle before it could begin and knocked all the bluster out of the Goblins. According to the treaty she found, the Goblins were meant to search the vaults of anyone arrested for casting Dark Magic and hand any dark artefacts found there over to the Ministry. They were even granted the use of special Dark Detectors, such and Probity Probes and Secrecy Sensors in order to carry out this task. The three people with access to the Lestrange family vault had been arrested for the use of Dark Magic, once in the case of Bellatrix and twice each in the case of Rodolphus and Rabastan, giving a total of five arrests that gave the Goblins cause to scan the vault. That Harry, Hermione and Ron had broken into the vault and discovered a dark artefact within it proved that the Goblins had not been doing their job properly and thus had breached the treaty long before Harry, Hermione and Ron had caused their disturbance.

The Goblin rebellion had ended that day without bloodshed. Following it there were many calls from many people, including some of Hermione's superiors, for the Ministry to exercise tighter control over the Goblin nation. Hermione had suggested that they show leniency but make a hint of threat. Harry had agreed with her and Kingsley had listened. And it had worked, the threat of "We know you f****d up, you know you f****d up, behave or we'll punish you for it" did a far better job of keeping the Goblins in line than actually carrying out the treat would have done.

And with that Hermione found herself rising quickly in her field. Some hated that she rose so fast and held it against her. Others recognised her success with the Goblins for what it was and were prepared to listen to further ideas from her.

Thus she had a springboard for her campaign for House Elf Rights. Some had outright laughed at her, some shook their heads disparagingly and others muttered behind her back. But others listened and understood. Then Luna came to her aid, with the Quibbler reporting the tale of Dobby the House Elf, abused by his former masters, freed by Harry Potter, gave his life to help the Boy-Who-Lived and his friends escape the clutches of the Death Eaters. Then slowly those who fought in the Battle of Hogwarts had come forward, telling of the House Elves of the school who had charged into battle, armed with carving knifes and cleavers with fight the dark forces and defend the castle and those within.

The case of Winky caused Hermione to give up on the idea of freeing them all. First she began with a petition for the prevention of abuse towards House Elves, a notion which passed successfully. Next she had pushed for pay. This was met with derision, until Hermione pointed out that if they couldn't afford to pay House Elves, then perhaps they ought to try the work of a House Elf. That most people who owned a House Elf could barely function at home without one quickly became apparent, and the minimum wage for a House Elf was set at two Galleons a week. Holidays for House Elves soon followed and Hermione then turned her attentions to Centaurs, gaining them larger territories. During all of this she had also worked towards Kingsley's goal of reducing the amount of anti-Werewolf legislation knocking about. The campaign was aided by near-Werewolves Bill Weasley and Lavender Brown, but it proved to be a difficult task until Hermione broached the problem with Harry and Susan when she met up with them one day for lunch. The result had been Harry and Susan pooling some of their family money together and buying up and warding the Shrieking Shack. Lavender Brown had gone out of her way to learn how to properly brew the Wolfsbane Potion and Harry, Hermione, Susan and the Ministry each paid her to brew a regular supply of it. Werewolves then came to the Shrieking Shack on the night of the Full Moon, took some potion and remained there for the night, protected from everyone else, and everyone else protected from them.

All in all it had taken about seven years to achieve all this, and by that time Hermione was next in line for the top job in her department.

Then she got pregnant. During her maternity leave, her boss left and Pansy Parkinson had gotten the top job. Hermione had returned to work at the end of her maternity leave only to find herself being fired by the bitch.

Fortunately by now Harry was high ranking enough amongst the Aurors to be hammering out a few changes in the DMLE. One of these changes had been the creation of a magical forensics department. Harry had gotten Hermione her job there and, a decade later, she was in charge of it.

And that Parkinson bitch had gotten what she deserved in the end; about five years after she got the top job in the magical creatures department, she was fired from the job and ended up having to take a lower position in the Magical Transport office. It was there that she had conspired with the Daily Prophet to conduct its now infamous Floo Hacking scam. Pansy Parkinson was now in Azkaban.

Stepping into the room, Hermione suppressed a shudder at the sight of the monstrosity laid out on the table. Shutting the door behind her, she and Victoire moved either side of the table to better examine the thing. As Victoire stepped towards the head, she heard a crunch.

* * *

Rita Skeeter really wasn't feeling very good. Her front legs and antennae kept waving about against her will; she was dizzy and disoriented. She felt sick and weak, and yet felt the almost overwhelming urge to wander about. She had heard enough from the meeting that had taken place in the room earlier to know what the spores of the fungus were capable of, and she knew she needed to get help soon.

Suddenly her eyes were momentarily dazzled by light, and the smell of fresh air brought her senses around slightly. She realised the door was open. Finally she could make her break for freedom and then get some help.

Her legs were week and did not seem to want to cooperate with her, but Rita Skeeter forced them to move in the direction she desired. So focused was she on forcing her legs to aid her in making her escape that she failed to notice the foot covered in the special, protective boot until it was far too late.

* * *

"Hermione, you'd better get a look at this." said Victoire, looking down at the large insect she had just crushed beneath her boot.

"What is it?" asked Hermione, coming around the table.

"An insect of some kind. I hope we don't have some kind of infestation. It a load of these began carrying those spores about…"

Hermione crouched down and scooped up crushed beetle in her gloved hand. Recognising the markings on the mostly still intact head, Hermione smirked and said "Don't worry Victoire. We don't have an infestation. You've just killed the only one."

"How do you know that?"

"Because this is the animagus form of Rita Skeeter. She must have snuck in here somehow to try and find out what was going on, only to get stuck inside the room. She probably got infected."

She went over to a side table and picked up a large jar and dropped the remains inside "Remind me to inform Harry of her death, and to get him to check for a breach in the animagus-repelling wards."

She screwed the lit onto the jar and placed it back on the table top. Then she and Rose turned back to the task at hand.

The families of both women had suffered greatly at the acid quill of Rita Skeeter; neither felt any sadness over her death.

* * *

"Over there, please." said Tracey, directing the wizard who was levitating the body on the stretcher to a table on the left hand side of the room. The body was of a wizard who had died of old age.

As the wizard made his way over to the table, Tracey turned her attention to the right side of the room where the numerous cold storage drawers were located. Something, she didn't know what, seemed to make it possible for her to turn away. The wizard who had brought the stretcher in left the room, but Tracey barely noticed.

She stood silently, her eyes locked on the cold storage drawers. Then she heard it; a moan. It was barely audible, but she heard it. Not prepared to take any chances, she drew her wand before approaching the drawers. When she was standing next to them she paused and listened again.

Nothing.

Telling herself she was hearing things, Tracey was just about to turn away when the moan came again. From the sounds of it, it was coming from a drawer further along the row. Slowly the crept forwards, all the while listening intently. Finally she located the drawer that it was coming from and read the name label.

Willy Widdershins.

The moan came again, and Tracey was certain that this was the drawer. Wand raised, the reached out and grasped the handle. The drawer slid open.

Covered from head to toe in the fungus and with two thick vines protruding from the neck, the corpse of Willy Widdershins launched itself at her.

A screamed incantation sent a spell from her wand which blew his chest open, but that did not seem to slow him down at all. The arms grasped at her as the vines quickly began to wind themselves around her body. A severing charm hacked through the vines and a spell to the head caused the corpse to stagger backwards. Tracey seized her chance and scrambled from the room. She just managed to shut the door behind her when the corpse of Willy Widdershins crashed into it.

The noise attracted the attentions of others and several other healers and three security wizards came thundering down the stairs to the mortuary.

Fearfully gasping for breath, Tracey said "Someone get Potter! The Fungus-covered corpses don't stay dead."

* * *

Neville and Laura had successfully detached the body from the plant in the back of the shop and were not looking to move it over to the DMLE for Hermione to examine further when something caught Laura's attention.

"Neville, that finger just moved."

Neville frowned "How could it have? He's dead."

"I definitely saw it move." replied Laura.

Neville shook his head and was about to comment when he was cut off by the sound of a moan.

They both turned to the corpse and watched in disbelief as it sat up.

"Oh fuck." exclaimed Neville drawing his wand "Freeze it!"

* * *

Harry, Teddy, Susan and Rose were just going over a bit of paperwork when the sound of screaming reached their ears. They and every other Auror within earshot of the noise jumped to their feet and ran towards the source of the disturbance. They didn't have to go far. Hermione and Victoire were outside of their research lab, both still garbed in their protective suits, and both clearly having been on the receiving end of a terrible freight.

"What happened?" demanded Harry.

"The plant thing." Victoire answered shakily "It's alive."

Harry turned and looked through the lab's observation window. He took a step or two closer only the immediately recoil when the plant-like life form threw its whole bulk against the glass.

Eyes wide with fear, Harry asked Hermione "That glass is reinforced, right?"

She nodded her head as Victoire blasted her with a decontamination spell.

Its pumpkin head and mandrake body were both smashed open in many places, and its vines were mostly missing, but the creature, despite having obviously been dead for hours, was alive once again.

There came the sound of running feet. All eyes turned to the source and found Harry's son James running towards them "We just got a call from St. Mungo's; Willy Widdershins' body came back to life."

"And his is not the only one." commented Harry, pointing to the window.

James looked in and summed up everyone's thoughts in just two words:

"Well, shit."

* * *

Having ensconced the body in the back of the shop in a thick layer of ice, Neville and Laura left quickly in order to raise the alarm. Outside in Knockturn Alley, however, they were met with carnage.

The doors to most of the shops were hanging on their hinges, and the majority of the windows in the alley were smashed. Everywhere people encrusted in layers of the fungus were lumbering about laboriously and a seemingly aimlessly. Some had progressed to the point where they had long, thick vines protruding from various places, and it was these that lashed out at their targets. Already several Aurors and at least a dozen Magical Law Patrol Officers were lying dead, apparently ambushed en masse. Screams were coming from within the buildings up and down the length of the alley as more victims were attacked.

Neville and Laura backed hurriedly into the shop and Laura snatched up her communication crystal to call the situation in. Then she began assisting Neville in barricading themselves inside the shop. Satisfied that the door and windows were securely blocked off, they began searching for a way out. Unfortunately this particular shop proved to be amongst the many in Knockturn Alley that chose not to be on the floo network, obviously paranoid about the Ministry trying to keep tabs on their dealings.

"Now what?" asked Neville, but Laura wasn't paying attention to him. Instead her eyes were fixed on a large crack in the wall.

A crack through which a vine was already pushing its way into the room.

A freezing wind spell convinced it to retreat, but it was only a matter of time before the creatures would try again.

* * *

**A/N: How was that? This was meant to be a short Halloween story, and now it's the 1****st**** of December and the story is still going strong. It took ages to get this chapter to come out the way I wanted it: I wrote the first three hundred or so words and then just sat there staring at it without a clue as to what to do next. Numerous attempts later and I still had nothing to add. So in the end I put in a dose of Hermione's backstory and then the rest just began to flow after that.**

**My next project, a Deathly Hallows alternative is currently taking shape, though I plan to end at least this story before starting on that one. I wanted to write a Christmas tale like I did last year as well, but I don't dare start another story at the current time.**


End file.
